The Soul Of Man.

I frantically got out of bed and ran around to the foot of its frame to see Mara's battered body.

"You sleep well?" She asked, cracking a smile.

"Who cares, did you win?" She was still tightly gripping her swords, both covered in thick gray blood. I had no idea how she managed to actually fight it on even footing, but it seemed like she had struck it more than once.

She slowly stood up, clearly favoring her left leg. "It's still alive, but he looks worse than I do if you call that a win."

"Mara, I don't think you can look much worse than you do right now and still be alive."

She wiped blood from her mouth and smiled back at me. "What are talking about? I'm a knockout I always look great."

"Mara… You look like you got knocked out… By building falling on you…" I paused, feeling my heart still racing. "You are… Ok… Right?"

She stumbled over to a wall and used it to catch her balance and steady her breath. "Still in one piece."

'Are you though… Like… Does this count?' I slowly reached out my hand, "Do you–" 

she raised her own in response. Taking a long deep breath and letting it out with a sigh. When she finished, she steadied herself back on her feet like it was nothing. "I bought us a couple of weeks, a month at most."

"How long till you can walk again though…"

Even standing there she wasn't putting any weight on her injured leg.

She smirked. "At least I still have legs to walk on."

'Holly… Does she mean…'

She looked down at her leg. "I guess it will regenerate though, so you're right. It won't kill me but… I can't put weight on it.

'Just how badly is she messed up?' I started circulating mana through my eyes. Her leg was broken in three places and several of her muscles were partially torn. "It's going to take more than a few weeks…" I grumbled.

I thought back to Rafi, the strange pale witch of the abyss. She had told me to learn dark magic. 'I do that… and she will help me win… Then no one has to die.'

Mara gritted her teeth and let out a groan. "You're safe for now so rest easy… I'm going to go rub some dirt in my wounds." She said, limping out the door.

I wanted to try and stop her, but honestly, I was too shocked she could stand, much less walk with how bad her leg was. It gave me chills.

'If she can't even finish it off then that settles it.' I grabbed the magic tome and flipped it open. It felt as if someone was guiding me, holding my hand through the process.

I closed my eyes and envisioned darkness converging on them. looking inside myself I imagined a dark orb, it was small, but enough. I took a little bit of the darkness from the orb and moved it to my eyes, and then I whispered "Darksight."

Everything suddenly went entirely black. I lost all vision, but then in a flash everything came back, it was just faded, Like I was seeing everything in muted colors, just like before when I met Rafi. It was the same feeling I had when I was in the abyss.

I looked around slowly, and then back at the book. Suddenly it changed. reacting to the presence of dark magic. All the pages went blank, and black whiplike letters started appearing, each one burning itself into the fabric. A deep thundering voice spoke directly into my mind.

"Woe to those who dare to gaze upon the abyss as I have. In using magic derived from the soul, you stand to lose everything. You who dare to face the abyss, take heed in using these dark powers. There are many, and each one could bring calamity, both to yourself, as well as others. Knowing that one day these powers will turn you into a demon, make sure you kill at least two."

The voice stopped, but the words continued to burn into the pages.

[Dark magic is derived from the living soul of a being. Every living creature has a living soul, though it takes different forms. Each soul is unique and changes the way that dark magic can manifest.

Some beings, like those with the soul of light, are unable to use dark magic at all. While others, like Humans who inherited the soul of man, in essence, have the greatest aptitude for dark magic. Elves, dwarves, and other like people inherited the soul of fire, they aren't well attuned to dark magic, instead they flourish within other fields. Animals and monsters were given the soul of nature, often they will turn to dark magic naturally when their environment is corrupted.

Each soul holds within it some darkness, that is where the power of dark magic comes from. If you wish to use dark magic, simply summon the power of your soul. But be careful. Every time you do, the flaws in your character will bear their fangs, and the things that were benevolent about you will dwindle. The soul of man craves darkness. It is only by divine grace that we can dwell in the light.

You have already learned dark sight. This is the first and most foundational dark magic skill. You will need this to see many of the demons of this world, and it will make it far easier to face them. The second skill you absolutely need in order to face the monsters of the dark is called. [Grounding] 

Grounding is a spell or technique that allows you to hold onto your soul, your humanity so to speak. It will let you find a ground to stand on when there would otherwise be only a void. It lets you feel your sword in your hand where otherwise you wouldn't feel anything at all. 

To use this spell, simply think of the one thing you care about most. Regardless of whether that thing is still in this world or not. For me, it was my fiance. I fought for her, and so other people wouldn't suffer as she like did.

"SIYA!" I jumped straight out of my seat, slamming the book closed at the sound of my name.

It was my father. "Get up, We are leaving." His voice was cold and stiff, his movements quick and brash. I wasn't sure if we were simply going back to the tower, or if he had something more sinister planned.

'He would do anything for his family… He would even kill me… right? So if the demon is bound to me would it just go away if I died? If he tried, should I fight back?'

As my own thoughts circled around my brain we ended up arriving back at the mage tower before I even knew it. It was like my brain had fallen into a trance as my mind reconstructed entire portions of my brain.

Just like before we stepped onto the branches, only instead of riding them down, they moved up. Several smaller branches gently wrapped around us, lifting us up to the top where a massive deck was built between them. There, In a small hut, were two circular mats made out of soft woven leaves and a candle between them. 

My father pointed to one of the mats and pointed at the other, sitting cross-legged. 

Mimicking him I sat down directly in front of him, and once I settled in he slowly closed his eyes. "Let's begin."

Like usual, he didn't give an explanation, or bother to even hint at what we were doing or why. In the end, I would just have to piece it together myself.

 Energy began flowing around him. I could see it all begin circling, and then in a flash, it expanded to fill the entire room. "This is called Aura, it's the expansion of your will outward into the world. Through this, I can see, hear, and feel everything in this room at once."

The candle flickered and then went out the moment he opened his eyes. "I can cause my will to become reality. Within this space." The candle lit again and he opened his eyes. "This is the first thing you have to learn, without being able to do this there's no point in even trying to teach you a spell."

'Easy enough.'

"Practice until you can get that down. Try to empty your mind completely until nothing is left. Feel your heart beating, simply be in this moment."

'Well I certainly can't be anywhere I'm not… Whatever let's try this.'